Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Does Your Small Business Need a CFO?

by Lisa Maida

I read an interesting article recently about whether or not
your company ACTUALLY needs an official CFO…or if your company just needs a
really good cash manager. The article suggests that most start ups (and I
agree) don’t need a CFO until they get large enough to be considering major
strategic scale-ups like IPOs, mergers or acquisitions, or taking on huge
amounts of investor funds in order to achieve an objective. It’s all true!

Cash really is king. You hear it everywhere from the dusty
roads of Kansas to the high flying neon dream world of Las Vegas. Cash makes
the world go ‘round, whether we like it or not.

Most start ups are self funded. Family and friends empty their savings accounts or a few 401K
loans, throw all their spare pennies into a bowl and suddenly you find yourself the owner
of a shiny new business. You’re on top of the world, imagining what it’s going
to be like to take weekends off, be your own boss, and really make a difference
in the world of XYZ...and then…. BOOM! You’re bankrupt.

Why? What happened to all that money you gathered up to make
your dreams come true? If you’re like most start up owners, you grossly
underestimated how much money you actually could make, would make, and did
make. You probably didn't take the time to create a solid business plan,
analyze the market you were entering, or create any cash forecasting or budget
plans. Maybe you didn't know you needed to. It’s ok- it happens to the best of
us- bet you won’t do it again.

Imagine how different it could have been if you’d taken the
time and used the knowledge of people around you who have done this a few time.
Helius can help. It’s what we do! Our classes are designed to help you
identify, address, and tackle just these types of hurdles. We want you to be
successful- so give us a call and let us illuminate YOUR entrepreneurial
development!